Visiting The Bronx Zoo

I’ve lived in NYC for nearly five years and somehow took all that time to visit the famous Bronx Zoo. Thanks to encouragement from my brother-in-law, we made plans to take all of the kids a few weeks ago.We arrived just after the zoo opened, in hopes of beating some of the crowds and getting the kids out of there without any meltdowns.

Our first stop was to visit The Children’s Zoo area, and Jordan’s brother helped Jameson get an up close view of the prairie dogs. We also witnessed some nature at work (if you know what I mean) and moved the kids along before they asked too many questions about what that one prairie dog was doing to that other prairie dog. [insert wide-eyed emoji here.]

There was lots to see in the Children’s Zoo area, and even things to climb and interact with, which all of the kids loved.

The photos below of Jameson with his big cousins are some of my absolute favorites. He loves them so much and wants to do everything they do.

Before we know it, Josiah will be in on the fun too, but for now, he’s happy hanging with Mommy.

When we stopped for lunch, my nine-year-old niece, Jocelyn, was excited to make a purchase with her own money, and of course that purchase was a large container of candy. This made her brother, Jayden, and Jameson very happy.

We also gave Jameson his first introduction to Dippin’ Dots ice cream, which was equally well-received.

From there, we made our way to the gorilla exhibit, which was the area everyone was most excited about. We saw giraffes, baboons, and Okapi (look that one up!) and really beautiful scenery along the way.

The gorillas were amazing to watch. And Jameson wouldn’t stop talking about them and comparing the family of gorillas to our family. “That’s the grandma!” “That’s the mommy!” “That’s Jameson and that’s Josiah!”Evidence of the non-stop talking (lol, poor Jordan)…

I’m including lots of photos of the gorillas below, because I felt like this gorilla felt my plight as a mother. She’s trying to mind her business, and her kid is all up in her mix. She tries to walk away, and her kid is like, “Mom, mom, mom, mom, can I come toooo?”

Mom, really wants her space, just a few moments to drink her coffee in peace…

But ultimately, the kid wins, and there she is… breastfeeding and inspecting the baby’s cradle cap. HA!

We ended the day with a few family photos. My in-laws look fantastic. :-)

In our case, we simply attempted family photos. And I can assure you that all kinds of promises of juice and gummies were made to get the shot below. In my next career, I’ll be looking into jobs as a hostage negotiator.

If you haven’t been to the Bronx Zoo, you definitely need to. We barely scratched the surface and are looking to our next trip. If you’re in the NYC area and plan to take a family (of at least 3 people) you should definitely consider buying the membership for the year, instead of just admission for a single day. The single-day admission will cost you nearly as much as the membership that grants you unlimited access to the Bronx Zoo and other zoos around the city (Central Park Zoo, Brooklyn Zoo, etc).

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About Jessica Rice

I believe we all have a unique story to live and tell. Through ups and downs, I've tried to make the most of the life I've been given -- to live my best story. Storied + Styled is where I capture our exploration of NYC, our travels, our attempt to figure out parenthood, and weave in our love of food, faith, friendships and whatever else is adding richness to life.